STATE  OF  NEW-YORK. 


No.  400. 


IN  ASSEMBLY, 

May  2,  1839. 


REPORT 

X)f  the  minority  of  the  Select  Committee  in  rela- 
tion to  removing  the  Capitol. 

The  undersigned,  from  the  select  committee  to  which  was  referred 
the  petition  of  the  inhabitants  of  Chautauque  county,  praying  for  the 
removal  of  the  Capitol  to  the  city  of  Utica,  and  to  which  was  also  re- 
ferred the  resolution  of  this  House,  that  a  select  committee  be  appointed 
to  inquire  into  the  expediency  of  changing  the  location  of  the  seat  of 
Government  of  this  State,  and  that  they  report  thereon  to  this  or  the 
next  House  of  Assembly, 

REPORT- 

The  undersigned  are  well  aware  that  no  action  upon  the  subject  of 
this  petition  or  resolution,  can  be  had,  without  experiencing  strong  op- 
position on  the  part  of  the  individuals  residing  in  that  section  of  the 
country,  in  which  the  Capitol  is  now  placed.  The  advantages  afforded 
to  the  particular  place  in  which  the  Capitol,  and  the  other  public  build- 
ings are  situated,  are  numerous,  and  no  doubt  are  fully  appreciated  by 
the  citizens  of  Albany.  The  great  convenience  and  advantage  also  re- 
sulting from  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  Comptroller's  office,  and  the 
offices  of  the  Secretary  of  State,  Treasurer,  and  other  State  officers, 
where  all  taxes  are  to  be  paid,  and  all  public  business  of  every  nature 
transacted,  in  addition  to  all  legislative  business,  are  probably  well  un- 
derstood by  the  inhabitants  of  the  county  of  Albany  at  large,  and  the 
inhabitants  of  other  counties  immediately  contiguous.  The  benefits  re- 
sulting from  this  location,  have  not  inspired  those  enjoying  them  for  a 
long  lapse  of  years,  with  the  disinterested  opinion,  that  others  should 

[Assem.  No.  400.]  1 


2 


[Assembly 


now  participate  with  them  in  their  enjoyments;  much  less  that  others 
should  possess  these  benefits  to  their  exclusion.  On  the  contrary,  it 
would  seem  that  the  long  possession  of  these  advantages  by  the  inhabi- 
tants of  Albany,  has  come  to  be  looked  upon,  as  giving  them  a  right 
to  their  continued  possession,  and  that  any  attempt  to  change  them  is 
an  interference  with,  and  an  encroachment  upon  their  rights.  That 
selfishness,  which  is  a  part  of  our  nature,  may,  to  some  extent,  justify 
or  at  least  excuse  this  tenacity.  Those  who  are  in  possession  of  greater 
advantages  than  others,  usually  cling  to  them,  till  forcibly  wrested  from 
their  grasp,  and  never  relinquish  them,  until  further  contest  is  ascertained 
to  be  useless.  While  your  committee  find  this  excuse  for  opposition  to 
any  change  on  the  part  of  those  who  are  now  best  accommodated  by 
the  location  of  the  public  buildings,  they  do  not  receive  it  as  a  proper 
principle  to  control  the  action  of  the  Legislature  of  this  State.  The 
blessings  from  our  parent,  the  State,  like  the  blessings  of  our  Great  Pa- 
rent,  above,  should,  as  far  as  possible,  descend  equally  and  without  par- 
tiality upon  all.  He  sends  his  fertilizing  dews  upon  all  the  earth,  and 
his  rains  upon  the  just  and  the  unjust;  and  no  sordid  avarice  or  grasping 
desire  is  permitted  to  direct  their  dispensation.  The  petition  in  this 
case,  is  signed  by  but  a  small  number  of  inhabitants  of  the  county 
of  Chautauque,  but  it  may  be  proper  to  observe,  that  in  the  year3 
1836, 57;  '8,  a  very  large  number  of  petitions  upon  this  subject,  and  com- 
prising, it  is  believed,  several  thousand  petitioners,  were  presented  to 
the  House.  Through  them  the  wishes  of  many  of  the  western,  north- 
ern and  southern  counties,  upon  this  subject,  have  been  strongly  urged 
upon  this  Legislature. 

They  suppose  it  will  not  be  disputed  by  any  one,  that  the  public 
buildings,  if  they  were  now  required  to  be  built  for  the  first  time,  should 
be  placed  in  that  position  which  would  afford  the  best  accommodation 
to  the  greatest  number  of  our  citizens.  Being  the  property  of  the  State, 
and  the  State  consisting  of  the  individuals  composing  the  body  politic, 
it  needs  no  argument  in  a  republican  community,  to  demonstrate  that 
the  majority  of  these  individuals  would  be  entitled  to  select  the  location 
of  their  capital.  In  this  selection,  each  individual  would  give  that  de- 
cision most  favorable  to  his  own  interests,  and  as  the  general  result  of 
individual  preference  determines  the  public  voice  and  public  interest, 
the  majority  would  fix  upon  that  point  which  would  best  subserve  the 
interest  or  convenience  of  the  majority  of  the  people.  The  question 
therefore  arises,  is  the  present  location  such  an  one  as  would  be  fixed 
upon  were  the  question  now  an  original  one;  and  if  not,  are  there  cir- 
cumstances connected  with  the  fact  of  an  existing  location  at  Albany, 


No.  400.] 


3 


of  sufficient  weight  to  retain  the  public  buildings  there,  although  they 
might  not  be  placed  there  were  an  original  location  now  to  be  made? 

Upon  the  first  branch  of  this  question,  the  undersigned  would  take 
leave  to  say,  that  they  suppose  that  selection  of  a  site  for  the  public 
buildings  to  be  the  most  perfect  one  by  which  all  the  people  of  the  State 
could  be  brought  equally  near  to  the  seat  of  government.  Indeed  such 
a  selection  would  abstractly,  and  if  no  other  circumstances  intervened, 
be  a  perfect  one.  Practically,  that  position  could  never  be  attained,  and 
we  therefore  endeavor  to  ascertain  what  is  the  nearest  approximation  to 
this  point  of  perfection.  Practically,  too,  the  means  of  approach  to  any 
place,  its  accessibility,  would  greatly  influence  a  determination.  A 
perfect  centre  of  all  the  population,  to  which,  however,  no  avenues  ex- 
isted, would  be  far  inferior  to  an  imperfect  centre  to  which  easy  access 
existed  from  every  quarter.  That  place,  then,  which  was  the  nearest 
to  the  centre  of  population,  and  to  which  the  most  convenient  avenues 
from  the  greatest  part  of  the  country  existed,  would  seem  to  furnish  the 
desired  location  for  the  seat  of  government  of  this  State.  Perhaps,  too, 
in  fixing  upon  such  a  location,  a  geographical  centre  should  be  sought,  and 
the  relative  population,  present  and  prospective,  of  the  different  portions 
of  the  State,  should  not  be  overlooked.  Is  the  city  of  Albany,  then, 
as  near  the  centre  of  population  and  territory  of  the  State  as  any  other 
place  of  respectable  size,  to  which  equal  avenues  and  means  of  approach 
exist?  and  will  the  future  course  of  probable  increase  of  population  bring 
either  and  which  of  these  places  more  near  to  the  centre  of  population? 
Various  places  in  the  western  part  of  the  State  have  been  designated  as 
proper  sites,  among  which  are  Utica,  Syracuse  and  Auburn;  and  in 
making  some  statistical  comparisons  upon  the  question  now  proposed, 
between  Albany  and  Utica,  the  committee  intend  to  claim  no  prefe- 
rence for  Utica  over  the  other  places  mentioned.  It  will  be  time  enough 
to  fix  the  particular  location  after  a  removal  shall  be  determined  upon. 
The  comparison  is  made  between  Utica  and  the  present  site,  for  the 
reason  that  calculations  have  already  been  made  upon  this  basis,  and  are 
in  the  hands  of  the  committee,  which  have  not  been  made  in  the  other 
cases. 

It  is  stated  in  the  petition,  that  according  to  the  then  apportionment 
of  the  members  of  the  State  Legislature,  seventy-two  members  reside 
within  one  hundred  miles  of  Utica,  while  only  fifty-seven  reside  within 
the  same  distance  of  Albany.  This  shows  a  difference  in  favor  of  Utica 
of  fifteen  members.  Forty-nine  members  of  Assembly,  at  the  present 
time,  reside  within  the  same  distance  of  Utica,  while  but  forty-one  re- 


|  Assembly 


side  within  that  distance  of  Albany,  making  a  difference  of  eight  in  fa- 
for  of  Utica.  Of  the  county  seats  of  the  several  counties  of  the  State, 
thirty-four  are  nearer  to  Utica  than  Albany,  and  twenty  nearer  to  Al- 
bany than  Utica;  here  again  giving  a  difference  of  fourteen  counties  in 
favor  of  Utica. 

A  statement  of  the  distances  of  the  county  seats  of  the  several  coun- 
ties from  Utica  and  Albany,  is  said  to  give  an  aggregate  distance  in 
favor  of  Utica  of  more  than  eleven  hundred  miles.  The  number  of 
acres  in  those  counties  nearer  to  Utica  than  Albany,  is  said  to  amount 
to  21,254,933,  while  the  number  of  acres  in  the  counties  nearer  to 
Albany  than  Utica,  amounts  to  but  7,995,290,  giving  a  difference  in 
favor  of  Utica  of  13,259,643,  or  nearly  three,  to  one. 

From  the  census  of  1835,  the  following  list  appears  to  furnish  the 
number  of  members  of  Assembly  and  the  population,  with  the  number 
of  improved  acres,  in  the  several  counties  named. 

Mem.  Aas.  Pop.  Impr.  acres. 


Albany,   3  59,762  207,484 

Clinton,   1  20,742  103,408 

Columbia,   3  40,746-  307,354 

Delaware,   2  34,192  224,811 

Dutchess,   3  50,704  305,702 

Essex,   1  20,699  113,588 

Franklin,   1  12,501  59,880 

Greene,   2  30,173  174,841 

Kings,   2  <2£252^  225,035 

Montgomery,   2  46,705  296,802 

Hamilton,   1,654  9,074 

New-York,   13  270,089  4,482 

Orange,   3  45,096  294,970 

Putnam,   1  11,551  90,365 

Queens,   1  25,130  129,539 

Rensselaer,   3  55,515  263,324 

Richmond,   1  7,691  21,266 

Rockland,   1  9,696  62,120 

Saratoga,   2  38,012  288,226 

Schenectady,   1  16,230  78,197 

Schoharie,   2  28,508  183,821 

Suffolk,   2  28,274  168,049 


Carried  forward, 


No.  400.] 


6 


Mem.  Ass.  Pop.  Impr.  acres. 

Brought  forward,  


Sullivan,   1  13,755  50,677 

Ulster,   2  39,960  185,056 

Warren,   1  12,034  71,410 

Washington,   2  39,326  308,536 

Westchester,   2  38,790  255,465 


58     1,029,592  4,483,482 


This  population,  and  the  people  upon  this  improved  territory,  would 
be  as  well  or  better  accommodated  by  the  location  of  the  Capitol  at 
Albany  than  at  Utica.  The  following  counties  would  be  better  accom- 
modated by  its  location  at  Utica. 

Mem.  Ass.  Pop.  Impr.  acres. 


Allegany,   2  35,214  139,329 

Broome,   1  20,190  93,760 

Cattaraugus,   2  24,986  87,576 

Cayuga,   3  49,202  257,669 

Chautauque,   3  44,869  167,134 

Chemung,   1  17,465  71,742 

Chenango,   3  40,762  248,566 

Cortland,   2  24,168  188,859 

Erie,   3  57,594  162,894 

Genesee,   4  58,588  '  305,488 

Herkimer,   2  36,201  226,036 

Jefferson,   3  53,088  258,348 

Lewis,   1  16,093  86,150 

Livingston,   2  31,092  177,531 

Madison,   3  41,741  223,147 

Monroe,   3  58,085  229,357 

Niagara,   2  26,490  98,334 

Oneida,   4  77,518  300,687 

Onondaga,   4  60,998  270,330 

Ontario,   3  40,870  231,679 

Orleans,   1  22,893  117,585 

Oswego,   2  38,245  110,186 

Otsego,   3  50,428  341,483 

Seneca,   1  22,627  131,648 


Carried  forward, 


ft 

^ASSEMBLY 

Mem.  Ass. 

Pop. 

Impr.  acres. 

Brought  forward  j . , 

Q 

A  O  C\A  H 

4<£,U47 

lo  1,483 

Q 

AAA  QPi 

4i,4oD 

183,776 

1 

lo,0o4 

67,977 

2 

38,008 

186,180 

...  .  2 

37,788 

153,530 

19,796 

115,972 

69 

1,144,925 

5,384,440 

This  statement  shows  that  at  the  present  time  the  location  of  the  Ca- 
pitol at  Albany  will  best  accommodate  that  portion  of  the  State,  allow- 
ing to  Albany  all  Montgomery,  Hamilton  and  Fulton,  (which  in  truth 
are  nearly  equi  distant  from  Albany  and  Utica,)  wThich  contains  a  popu- 
lation of  1,029,592,  and  of  improved  acres  of  land  of  4,483,4S2,  and 
which  sends  members  of  Assembly  to  the  number  of  fifty-eight.  A  lo- 
cation at  Utica  would  best  accommodate  a  portion  of  the  State  contain- 
ing a  population  of  1,444,925,  and  comprising  acres  of  improved  land 
to  the  extent  of  5,384,440,  and  sending  sixty-nine  members  of  Assem- 
bly. This  gives  in  favor  of  Utica  a  difference  of  115,333  inhabitants, 
who  would  be  better  accommodated  there  than  at  Albany.  It  also  shows 
in  favor  of  Utica  an  extent  of  territory  comprising  900,958  acres  of 
improved  land,  which  would  receive  advantage  from  the  change,  more 
than  are  benefitted  by  the  present  location.  It  is  plain  also,  that  eleven 
more  members  of  Assembly  could  more  readily  arrive  at  the  seat  of  Go- 
vernment at  Utica  than  can  do  so  at  Albany.  No  census  having  been 
taken  since  1835,  the  committee  have  taken  the  returns  of  that  year  as 
the  basis  of  their  calculations,  but  justice  to  the  west,  and  a  full  state- 
ment of  the  difference  would  require  a  large  addition  in  favor  of  the 
west.  The  population  of  most  of  the  western  counties  has  increased 
with  wonderful  rapidity  since  1830;  while  at  the  east,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  the  city  of  New- York,  the  increase  has  been  trifling,  and  in  some 
counties  the  population  actually  decreased  from  1830  to  1835,  and  pro- 
bably continues  to  do  so  to  the  present  time.  The  counties  of  Sarato- 
ga, Washington,  Dutchess,  Orange  and  Putnam,  severally  exhibit  a  de- 
creased population  in  the  last  five  years  previous  to  1835,  and  the  coun- 
ty of  Columbia  shows  but  the  small  increase  of  794,  the  county  of  De- 
laware but  1,259,  the  county  of  Richmond  of  but  607,  the  county  of 
Rockland  of  but  308,  the  County  of  Schoharie  of  598,  and  the  county 
of  Warren  of  but  308,  in  the  same  five  years;  while  the  counties  of 


No.  400.  | 


7 


Allegany,  Cattaraugus,  Chautauque,  Erie,  Genesee,  Livingston,  Monroe, 
Niagara,  Oneida,  Steuben,  and  many  others  at  the  west,  exhibit  a  much 
larger  increase  during  the  same  period. 

Adapted,  as  the  western  part  of  the  State  is,  to  a  very  great  extent, 
to  the  raising  of  grain,  it  will  support  a  greater  population  than  the 
grazing  lands  of  the  east.  The  latter  may  be  as  rich  and  as  sound,  but 
less  labor  is  required  in  their  cultivation,  and  their  perfection  and  high 
improvement  seem  to  be  productive  rather  of  a  diminution  than  an  in- 
crease of  population.  It  is  believed,  therefore,  that  the  census  of  1840, 
and  that  of  1845,  will  exhibit  a  much  greater  difference  in  population 
in  favor  of  the  west  than  is  now  shown.  So  far  as  the  various  avenues 
to  the  different  places  under  consideration  are  concerned,  both  are  abun- 
dantly furnished  with  the  means  of  approach.  Albany,  situated  upon 
the  Hudson  river,  with  the  Mohawk  and  Hudson  rail-road  extending 
westerly,  and  the  eastern  rail-road  in  contemplation,  is  accessible,  easily 
and  readily  in  every  direction.  Utica,  also,  is  central  in  its  position, 
and  has  her  fair  share  of  all  the  improvements  of  the  day.  With  the 
Erie  canal,  the  Chenango  canal  here  terminating,  the  Utica  and  Sche- 
nectady rail-road  in  full  and  successful  operation,  the  Syracuse  and  Utica 
rail-road  to  be  completed  in  three  months,  the  Utica  and  Susquehannah 
rail-road  to  unite  with  the  New-York  and  Erie  when  the  latter  shall  be 
built,  the  Utica  and  Oswego  rail-road  connecting  with  the  north,  and 
her  turnpikes  and  McAdam  roads,  Utica  is  certainly  upon  an  equality 
with  the  present  seat  of  government.  By  these  roads  the  traveller  may 
now  leave  New-York  at  five  o'clock  in  the  evening,  and  spending  some 
hours  in  Albany  by  the  way,  be  at  Utica  in  season  for  an  early  dinner 
the  following  day;  or  he  may  leave  Utica  at  nine  o'clock  in  the  even- 
ing and  be  in  New-York  the  next  day  in  time  to  transact  business  be- 
fore evening.  By  the  lines  in  progress,  and  some  of  them  nearly  com- 
pleted, Utica  and  Buffalo  will  be  brought  within  sixteen  hours  easy  tra- 
velling of  each  other,  and  all  intermediate  places  in  a  proportionate 
time.  The  Catskill  and  Canajoharie  rail-road,  though  at  a  distance  from 
Utica,  and  wTithin  a  few  miles  of  Albany,  will  furnish  greater  facilities 
to  the  inhabitants  of  Greene,  Delaware,  and  the  adjacent  counties,  to 
reach  Utica  than  Albany.  No  convenient  mode  of  approach  from  those 
counties  to  Albany  now  exists  in  the  winter,  when  the  Hudson  is  clos- 
ed, while  the  rail-road  from  Catskill  to  Canajoharie  will  at  all  times  fur- 
nish a  convenient  mode  of  arriving  at  the  latter  place,  whence  the  Utica 
and  Schenectady  rail-road  will  take  the  traveller  to  Utica  in  less  than 


8  f  Assembly 

three  hours.  In  the  convenience  and  number  of  its  means  of  approach 
and  departure,  it  is  clear  that  Utica  is  equal  to  any  place  in  the  State. 

From  the  previous  statements,  and  as  the  facts  now  existing  show 
the  case  to  be,  there  would  seem  to  be  no  propriety  in  selecting  Albany 
as  the  seat  of  government  of  this  State,  were  an  original  location  now 
to  be  made.  It  is  not  the  nearest  point  of  respectable  size  to  the 
centre  of  population,  or  improved  and  cultivated  land;  but  on  the  con- 
trary, the  city  with  which  we  have  compared  it  is  eleven  hundred  miles 
nearer  to  all  the  county  seats  of  the  State  than  Albany,  contains  nearer 
to  it  than  does  Albany  to  itself,  nearly  a  million  of  acres  of  improved 
land,  and  is  at  less  distance  from  the  residences  of  a  larger  number  of 
the  members  of  the  Legislature  than  Albany.  Neither  is  Albany  the 
more  accessible  place,  or  more  convenient  of  approach;  for  while  na- 
ture has  almost  surpassed  herself  in  the  formation  of  the  noble  river  on 
on  which  Albany  stands,  the  ornament  and  wealth  of  the  State,  the  art 
of  man  has  shown  itself  of  equal  capacity  in  the  works  of  internal  im- 
provement, with  which  Utica  is  at  all  points  pierced  and  surrounded. — 
They  have  already  been  enumerated,  and  it  is  here  necessary  but  to  al- 
lude to  them. 

Are  there  then  any  peculiar  circumstances  connected  with  the  loca- 
tion of  the  seat  of  government  at  Albany,  that  should  retain  it  there, 
it  confessedly  not  being  the  proper  place  for  such  location?  Your  com- 
mittee are  aware  of  but  one  reason  why  the  present  situation  should  not 
be  changed,  and  this  arises  from  the  investments  by  the  State  in  the 
public  buildings  now  placed  at  Albany.    The  amount  of  money  spent 
by  the  State  in  the  erection  of  the  Capitol,  public  offices,  and  the  pur- 
chase of  the  other  property  owned  by  the  State  in  Albany,  furnishes 
the  only  substantial  reason  which  the  committee  are  able  to  appreciate, 
why  no  change  of  the  seat  of  government  should  be  made.    The  habit 
indeed  of  attending  to  all  public  business  at  Albany, — in  other  words, 
the  antiquity  of  the  present  site, — may  supply  another  reason  against 
any  change;  but  of  this,  the  committee  are  not  able  to  feel  the  full 
force.    They  suppose  that  if  the  convenience  and  interest  of  a  large 
portion  of  our  fellow-citizens  can  be  greatly  promoted  by  a  change,  it 
will  be  an  unsatisfactory  answer  upon  a  denial  of  these  advantages  to 
say,  that  they  had  not  hitherto  been  accustomed  to  them,  or  that  they 
had  suffered  so  long  under  inconvenience  and  expense,  that  it  was  sup- 
posed that  they  would  be  unwilling  to  relieve  themselves  from  these 
burdens.    The  good  sense  of  the  people  of  the  State  could  not  for  a 
moment  entertain  so  absurd  a  proposition;  and  the  committee  will  con- 


No.  400.  J 


9 


fine  their  remarks  to  the  objection  of  investment  by  the  State  in  the 
public  buildings  now  at  Albany.  The  argument  of  antiquity  is  in  this 
country  a  feeble  one,  and  it  is  thought  justly  so.  It  admits  and  pre- 
supposes the  absence  of  substantial  argument.  The  public  property  con- 
sists of  the  Capitol  itself,  the  old  building  on  State-street  built  and  used 
for  the  State  offices,  the  new  one  in  the  course  of  erection  for  the  same 
purpose,  and  the  residence  purchased  for  the  Governor.  The  under- 
signed are  not  aware  of  any  other  property  in  the  city  of  Albany  or  its 
vicinity,  making  a  part  of  what  may  be  properly  called  the  public  build- 
ings, that  is  owned  by  the  State.  As  they  now  stand,  this  property 
may  perhaps  be  estimated  as  follows: 


Capitol,   $100,000 

Old  State  offices,   20,000 

New  State  offices,   150,000 

Governor's  residence,   19,000 


Making  a  total  of  -  $289,000 


Calling  the  real  property  of  the  State  in  Albany,  in  round  numbers, 
$300,000,  or  even  $500,000,  it  is  believed,  that  if  the  convenience  of 
the  people  of  this  State  would  be  effectually  promoted,  or  their  inte- 
rests permanently  advanced,  by  changing  the  seat  of  government,  the 
total  loss  of  this  amount  of  property  would  form  no  valid  objection  to 
such  a  change.  The  Empire  State,  containing,  according  to  the  assess- 
ment rolls,  her  five  hundred  millions  in  value  of  real  estate,  and  her  one 
hundred  and  twenty-five  millions  of  personal,  (and  in  actual  value  pro- 
bably equal  together  to  twelve  hundred  millions  of  dollars,)  may  grati- 
fy its  wishes  and  consult  its  convenience  at  the  sacrifice  of  this  amount 
of  money,  without  incurring  the  charge  of  prodigality  or  extravagance. 
What  would  be  wastefulness  or  improvidence  in  a  smaller  or  poorer 
power,  would  in  her  be  a  just  tribute  to  the  wealth,  the  convenience, 
and  the  happiness  of  her  citizens.  It  is  believed,  however,  that  there  need 
not  be  a  total  sacrifice  of  this  property,  in  consequence  of  a  change  of  the 
seat  of  government,  nor  necessarily  any  very  considerable  loss  upon  it. 
The  Capitol  might,  perhaps,  be  disposed  of  for  a  very  fair  price,  to 
some  literary  or  medical  college,  or  some  other  general  institution,  re- 
quiring the  possession  of  a  large  building  or  large  rooms.  Or  if  the 
manner  of  its  arrangement  forbids  such  an  use  of  it,  it  is  suggested  that 
the  entire  building  could  be  taken  down.  In  this  event,  the  materials 
of  which  it  is  composed  could  be  sold  for  a  large  sum,  and  the  State 
would  then  be  in  the  possession  of  a  large  and  beautiful  park,  unincum- 

f  Assem.  No.  400.J  2 


10 


I  Assembly 


bered  with  any  buildings  whatever,  if,  as  the  committee  suppose,  the 
fee  simple  is  in  the  State.  The  liberal  and  public  spirited  citizens  of 
Albany,  would  probable  deem  the  possession  and  public  use  of  this  park 
a  right  which  they  ought  to  possess,  and  enjoy,  and  would  doubtless  be 
willing  to  purchase  it  of  the  State  at  its  fair  value.  If,  however,  we 
are  deceived  in  the  public  spirit  and  liberality  of  the  citizens  of  Albany, 
and  it  can  be  supposed  that  they  would  decline  the  purchase,  then  the 
State  would  be  left  in  the  possession  of  a  large  number  of  beautiful 
building  lots,  surpassed  in  location  by  none  in  Albany;  and  it  is  be- 
lieved there  would  be  no  lack  of  purchasers  of  these  lots,  at  such  a 
price  as  should  give  to  the  State  a  full  compensation  for  their  property. 
If,  however,  the  fee  of  the  park  is  not  in  the  State,  this  suggestion 
could  not  of  course  be  carried  out,  and  a  larger  loss  would  be  incurred, 
in  the  event  of  the  inability  of  the  State  to  sell  the  property  as  it  now 
stands. 

While  upon  this  branch  of  the  subject,  it  may  also  be  mentioned,  as 
a  set  off  to  any  loss  that  might  possibly  accrue,  that  the  present  Capi- 
tol is  very  inconvenient,  and  in  some  respects  unfit  for  the  Capitol  of 
the  State  of  New-York.  Without  stopping  to  remark  upon  its  total 
want  of  beauty  and  elegance,  we  would  call  the  attention  of  the  House, 
to  the  smallness  and  great  inconvenience  of  the  Senate  Chamber.  A 
more  inconvenient  and  illy  arranged  place  for  the  deliberation  of  the  32 
Hon.  Senators  of  the  State  of  New-York,  could  scarcely  be  found,  as  will 
be  readily  admitted  by  all  who  have  reflected  for  a  moment  upon  the 
subject.  The  Assembly  Chamber  too,  is  much  too  small  for  the  pro- 
per comfort  and  convenience  of  the  members.  The  committee  would 
also  mention  the  remarkable  fact,  that  in  the  construction  of  the  Capi- 
tol, no  provision  whatever  was  made  for  committee  rooms,  and  to  the 
present  time  there  has  not  been,  and  is  not  now,  a  single  committee 
room  connected  with  or  near  the  Capitol.  Those  having  business  be- 
fore committees,  are  obliged  to  attend  at  the  private  rooms  of  the  mem- 
bers of  the  House,  or  at  the  Assembly  Chamber.  In  the  former  case, 
those  who  were  not  upon  amicable  terms  with  the  chairman  of  the  com- 
mittee, would  feel  an  unwillingness  to  attend  at  his  private  rooms. 
The  members  of  the  House,  too,  would  then  be  effectually  prevented 
from  attending  the  deliberations  of  any  committee,  and  understanding 
their  proceedings.  The  right  of  all  the  members  of  the  House  to  at- 
tend meetings  of  all  the  committees,  is  equal  to  their  right  to  attend  the 
meetings  of  the  House  itself,  and  in  many  cases  may  be  important  to 
be  exercised.  In  the  latter  case,  (of  the  committees  meeting  in  the 
Assembly  Chamber,)  the  inconvenience  arising  from  a  number  of  com- 


No.  400.] 


11 


mittees  being  in  session  at  the  same  time,  and  in  the  same  room,  will 
be  readily  appreciated.  The  practical  difficulty  arising  from  this  source 
has  been  often  experienced  during  the  present  session,  and  in  the  judg- 
ment of  the  undersigned,  it  detracts  very  seriously  from  the  value  of  the 
present  building.  To  remedy  it,  extensive  alterations  and  additions,  at 
no  trifling  expense  to  the  State,  would  be  necessary.  So  inconvenient 
and  unfit  for  the  use  has  the  Senate  Chamber  been  found,  that  a  bill  is 
now  before  the  Senate,  providing  that  the  Supreme  Court  room  shall  be 
used  as  the  Senate  Chamber,  though  that  room  is  upon  the  second  floor, 
inconvenient  of  access,  and  not  in  itself  particularly  well  fitted  for  the 
meetings  of  the  Senate. 

It  is  thought  that  the  circumstance  of  the  inconvenience  of  the  present 
Capitol  would  counterbalance  a  very  considerable  sacrifice  of  money  for 
the  erection  of  a  new  one.  Some  difficulty  might  also  be  experienced 
in  disposing,  to  good  advantage,  of  the  new  State  Hall,  arising  from  its 
peculiar  construction.  The  steady  growth  however  of  the  city  of  Al- 
bany, its  increasing  population  and  extending  business,  will,  before  long, 
probably  require  additional  erections  for  the  accommodation  of  its  pub- 
lic offices,  and  none  could  be  found  more  suitable  for  their  purpose  than 
the  new  State  Halh  Should  any  new  institutions  of  importance  spring 
into  existence  in  the  vicinity  of  Albany,  of  a  literary,  religious  or  medi- 
cal character,  a  building  like  this  one,  alone  or  in  connexion  with  the 
Capitol,  as  might  be  required,  would  be  well  adapted  to  their  use.  The 
value  of  this  building,  "when  to  be  completed,  is  estimated  at  a  large 
sum.  It  should,  however,  be  borne  in  mind  that  it  is  not  the  money  of 
the  State,  but  the  labor  of  prison  convicts,  that  has  erected  the  work. 
The  building  is  of  Sing-Sing  marble,  prepared  at  the  Mount-Pleasant 
prison,  and  at  a  comparatively  small  expense  to  the  State,  and  forwarded 
thence  to  Albany.  As  to  the  other  buildings  mentioned,  to  wit,  the  old 
State  Offices  and  Governor's  residence,  we  have  only  to  say,  that  they 
could  probably  be  sold  at  any  time  for  nearly  or  quite  their  full  value; 
and  whatever  loss  would  occur  from  the  sale  of  the  former  will  be  soon 
incurred,  if  no  change  takes  place,  as  it  is  proposed  to  abandon  it  en- 
tirely for  the  new  one,  of  which  mention  has  been  made. 

Should  there  be  a  great  scrupulousness  about  losing  any  money  by  a 
change  of  the  location  of  the  seat  of  government,  the  undersigned  would 
suggest  that  the  purchase  of  a  few  more  acres  than  wTould  be  needed  in 
the  new  location,  and  the  subsequent  sale  of  them,  at  a  greatly  enhanced 
price,  in  consequence  of  their  close  vicinity  to  the  public  buildings, 
would  more  than  compensate  for  any  such  loss.    They,  however,  are 


V2 


|  Assembly 


of  the  opinion  that  a  speculation  in  land,  on  the  part  of  the  State,  to 
retrieve  a  trifling  loss,  would  be  unworthy  the  dignity  and  honor  of  the 
State  of  New-York.  Wherever  the  convenience  and  interests  of  the 
people  require  the  position  of  the  public  buildings,  there  they  should  be 
placed,  even  at  the  hazard  of  pecuniary  loss. 

The  undersigned  have  before  endeavored  to  show  that  the  interests  of 
the  State  would  not  require  or  justify  a  location  of  the  public  buildings 
at  Albany,  were  the  question  an  original  one,  and  they  have  now  at- 
tempted to  show  that  there  are  no  peculiar  circumstances  existing  to 
require  their  continuance  at  that  place.  They,  therefore,  as  a  minority 
of  the  committee,  submit  to  the  consideration  of  the  House  the  follow- 
ing resolution: 

Resolved,  That  it  is  expedient  to  change  the  location  of  the  seat  of 
government  of  this  State. 

WARD  HUNT, 
J.  P.  COUCH. 


STATE  OF  NEW-YORK. 


No.  401. 


IN  ASSEMBLY, 

May  2,  1839. 


REPORT 

Of  a  minority  of  the  select  committee,  on  the  pe- 
tition and  resolution  relative  to  the  removal  of 
the  seat  of  government  of  this  State. 

Mr.  Davis,  from  a  minority  of  the  select  committee,  to  which  was 
referred  the  petition  of  fifty-six  inhabitants  of  the  county  of  Chautauque, 
praying  for  the  removal  of  the  Capital  from  the  city  of  Albany  to  the 
city  of  Utica;  and  also,  the  resolution  of  this  House,  that  a  select  com- 
mittee be  appointed  to  inquire  into  the  expediency  of  changing  the  lo- 
cation of  the  seat  of  government  of  this  State,  and  requiring  that  they 
report  thereon  to  this  or  the  next  House  of  Assembly, 

REPORTS: 

That  the  attention  of  the  Legislature  has  been  invited  to  the  subject 
of  removing  the  Capital  of  the  State  from  Albany  to  Utica,  by  a  petition 
emanating  from  fifty-six  citizens,  residing  in  the  county  of  Chautauque. 
The  memorialists  represent, a  that  the  recent  census  of  the  State  establishes 
the  fact  that  a  large  majority  of  its  citizens  are  residents  of  that  portion  of 
it  which  lies  west  of  the  city  of  Albany,"  and  they  are  of  opinion  that 
the  Capital  of  the  State,  with  the  public  offices,  ordinarily  attached  to  it, 
should  be  located  as  nearly  as  circumstances  will  permit,  in  the  centre 
of  population  and  territory,  and  they  designate  Utica  as  the  place,  com- 
bining the  advantages  of  a  territorial  centre,  and  the  centre  of  popula- 
tion. They  also  represent  that  of  the  members  of  the  Legislature;  se- 
venty-two reside  within  one  hundred  miles  of  Utica,  while  only  fifty- 
seven  reside  within  the  same  distance  of  Albany.  They  allude  to  the 
great  arteries  of  communication  which  they  say  must,  from  necessity  or 
expediency,  pass  through  the  city  of  Utica,  and  argue  that  the  facilities 

[Assem.  No.  401.]  1 


2  [Assembly 

of  communication  which  rail-roads  and  canals  afford,  render  Utica  as 
convenient  a  place  as  Albany  for  the  location  of  the  seat  of  govern- 
ment; and  in  addition  to  rail-roads  and  canals,  they  represent  that  va- 
rious turnpikes  terminate  at,  or  pass  through  Utica,  affording,  as  the 
memorialists  believe,  an  ease  of  access  from  the  various  sections  of  the 
State,  which  now,  and  in  all  future  time,  will  be  unsurpassed.  For 
these  reasons,  among  others,  they  ask  for  the  removal  of  the  Capi- 
tal from  Albany  to  Utica. 

A  glance  at  the  map  of  this  State  will  show,  that  thirty-one  of  the 
fifty-seven  counties  lie  east,  northeast  and  southeast  of  the  city  of  Utica; 
and  an  examination  of  the  last  census  will  prove,  that  those  counties 
contain  more  than  half  of  the  population  of  the  State.  The  city  of 
Albany  lies  near  the  eastern  boundary  of  the  State,  and  the  statement 
of  the  memorialists  that  a  large  majority  of  the  citizens  of  the  State  re- 
side in  that  portion  of  it  west  of  Albany,  is  true;  but  they  do  not  al- 
lude to  the  fact,  that  it  is  nearly  as  far  from  the  county  of  Suffolk  to 
the  city  of  Albany,  as  from  the  city  of  Albany  to  Chautauque;  nor  do 
they  allude  to  the  fact  that  a  large  proportion  of  the  population  of  the 
State,  including  the  immense  population  of  the  city  and  county  of  New- 
York,  reside  north,  east  and  south  of  Albany,  and  nearer  to  it  than  to 
the  city  of  Utica. 

The  thirty-one  counties  above  referred  to,  are 

Population. 

Suffolk,   28,274 

Queens,   25,130 

Kings,   32,057 

Richmond,   7,691 

New-York,   270,089 

Westchester,   38,790 

Rockland,   9,696 

Orange,   45,096 

Putnam,   11,551 

Dutchess,     50,704 

Sullivan,  ,   13,755 

Ulster,   39,960 

Delaware,   34,192 

Greene,   30,173 

Columbia,   40,746 

Schoharie,   28,508 


Carried  forward, 


JNo.  401. j 


3 


Brought  forward,  , 

Albany,  ....   59,762 

Rensselaer,   55.515 

Schenectady,   16,230 

Montgomery,   25,108 

Fulton,   21,265 

Saratoga,   38,012 

Washington,   39,326 

Essex,   20,699 

Clinton,   20,742 

Franklin,   12,501 

Hamilton,   1,644 

Herkimer,  eo9   36,201 

St.  Lawrence,   42,047 

Warren,   12,034 

Otsego,   50,428 


Making  a  total  of,   1,147,926,  or 

snore  than  half  of  the  population  of  the  State;  all  of  whom  are  bet- 


ter, or  at  least  as  well,  accommodated  by  the  location  of  the  capital 
•at  Albany  as  they  would  be  if  it  were  removed  to  Utica;  and  the  faci- 
lities of  communication  from  the  other  counties  of  this  State  are  such, 
-as  not  to  render  the  location  of  the  capital  at  Albany  a  serious  incon- 
venience to  the  inhabitants  of  those  counties. 

Under  the  present  apportionment  of  members  of  the  Legislature,  the 
number  of  members  representing  the  thirty-one  counties  above  mention- 
ed, is  sixty -six,  being  more  than  half  of  the  whole  number  of  repre- 
sentatives in  the  Assembly.  The  subject  of  the  petition  is  one  in 
which  every  section  of  the  State  is  interested,  and  should  not  be  acted 
upon  without  mature  deliberation.  The  committee  to  which  the  sub- 
ject was  referred,  have  been  called  together  only  within  the  last  few 
days,  although  the  subject  was  referred  to  them  at  an  early  period  in 
the  session.  They  have  not  been  able  to  agree  upon  a  unanimous  re- 
port, and  a  minority  of  the  committee  submit  the  following  as  some  of 
the  reasons  which  have  induced  to  the  conclusion  to  which  they  have 
arrived. 

It  is  proposed  by  the  memorialists  to  innovate  upon  a  long  establish- 
ed institution  of  this  State,  by  removing  its  political  capital.  The  ci- 
tizens, not  only  of  Albany,  but  of  the  State  at  large,  it  is  believed  will 
be  aggrieved,  instead  of  being  benefitted  by  such  a  change.    The  seat 


1 


I  Assembly 


of  government  has  been  established  at  Albany  for  more  than  forty  years, 
and  until  within  a  short  period  no  complaint  has  been  heard  from  any 
portion  of  the  State  against  this  long  standing  and  generally  convenient 
establishment.  Within  a  short  time  past,  however,  contrary  to  general 
expectation,  suggestions  have  been  heard,  asking  for  a  change;  and 
Utica  is  pointed  out  as  the  most  central  spot  on  which  to  establish  the 
political  metropolis  of  the  State  for  the  future.  This  call  for  a  change 
in  the  position  of  the  capital,  is  believed  to  be  made  by  a  very  few  only 
beyond  Utica  and  her  vicinity;  and  the  principal  argument  advanced  in 
favor  of  the  proposed  innovation  is,  that  Utica  is  nearer  than  Albany  to 
the  centre  of  territory  and  population,  and  therefore  the  seat  of  govern- 
ment ought  to  be  at  that  place. 

There  would  be  some  plausibility  in  this  argument,  if  Albany  were 
so  far,  in  any  direction  from  the  centre  of  the  State,  as  to  occasion  any 
serious  inconvenience  to  those  citizens  who  have  business  to  transact, 
periodically  or  casually,  with  the  executive  and  legislative  departments 
at  the  seat  of  government;  but  this  is  not  the  case.  The  memorial  from 
Chautauque  county  proves  this  assumption.  The  memorialists  repose 
their  main,  if  not  only  argument,  in  favor  of  the  change  proposed,  upon 
the  fact,  that  "  of  the  members  of  the  State  Legislature,  seventy-two 
members  reside  within  one  hundred  miles  of  Utica,  while  only  fifty- 
seven  reside  within  the  same  distance  of  Albany."  The  difference  here 
suggested  between  seventy-two  and  fifty-seven,  it  is  apprehended,  is  too 
small  to  found  an  argument  upon;  as  it  admits  that  but  a  small  fraction 
over  one-fifth  part  of  the  population  are  supposed  to  be  aggrieved  by  the 
present  location  of  the  capital;  and  the  probability  is,  without  resorting 
to  a  minute  calculation,  that  all  the  inconvenience  that  will  ever  result 
to  this  small  proportion  of  the  population  of  the  State,  from  the  present 
location  of  the  executive  and  legislative  departments  of  the  govern- 
ment, will  be  far  more  than  counterbalanced  by  the  saving  to  the  State 
of  the  heavy  expenses  which  must  be  incurred  if  the  seat  of  govern- 
ment be  removed.  In  the  first  place,  the  State  would  suffer  a  loss  of 
at  least  fifty  per  cent  upon  the  enormous  amount  which  her  Capitol  and 
her  State  houses,  erected  in  Albany,  have  cost;  and  to  this  great  loss, 
which  would,  in  the  opinion  of  some  of  the  committee,  amount  to  near- 
ly a  quarter  of  a  million  of  dollars,  would  be  added  the  same  enormous 
amount,  and  perhaps  more,  for  the  erection  of  a  new  Capitol  and  a  new 
State  house  at  Utica.  The  debt  already  created  by  the  State  for  exist- 
ing improvements,  and  the  additions  which  will  be  required  for  others 
now  in  the  progress  of  construction,  and  also  for  those  works  which 
are  contemplated  and  loudly  called  for,  will  for  some  time  to  come  bur- 


No.  401.J 


5 


then  the  State  sufficiently,  without  adding  to  their  weight,  by  incurring 
this  unnecessary  expense. 

It  is  deemed  that  this  brief  and  limited  view  will  be  sufficient  to  sa- 
tisfy candid  minds,  that  the  inconvenience  complained  of,  is  rather  ima- 
ginary than  real.  The  petition  referred  to  the  committee  is  signed  by 
a  few  citizens  of  Chautauque  county,  but  it  is  reasonable  to  suppose 
that  it  originated  at  Utica,  which  place  is  the  most  deeply  interested  in 
having  the  capital  removed  there.  Conflicting  interests,  we  are  well 
aware,  will  always  have  more  or  less  weight  in  producing  rivalships  or 
jealousies  between  cities  of  the  same  State,  or  States  of  the  same  con- 
federation. Our  own  history,  whether  of  the  Union  or  the  separate 
States,  has  furnished  ample  proof  of  this  position,  without  seeking 
abroad  for  examples. 

It  is  not  our  intention,  nor  do  we  mean  to  charge  the  petitioners  or 
the  citizens  of  Utica  with  possessing  more  cupidity  or  selfishness  than 
belongs  to  mankind  in  common;  but  as  the  general  welfare  of  the  State, 
admitting  the  argument  of  the  petitioners,  would  receive  but  a  very 
slight,  if  any,  real  accession  by  the  removal  of  the  seat  of  government 
to  Utica,  it  is  reasonable  to  suppose  that  the  advantages  expected  by 
Utica  alone  have  prompted  her  activity  in  promoting  this  measure,  al- 
though her  citizens  have  not  placed  themselves  in  the  attitude  of  peti- 
tioners.   This,  however,  is  natural,  and  therefore  excusable. 

But  let  us  for  a  moment  reflect  on  the  question  of  centrality,  upon 
which  the  petitioners  base  their  argument  for  the  measure  proposed.  If 
we  do  so,  we  shall  perceive  that  there  is  a  centre  of  territory  and 
population,  and  a  centre  or  theatre  of  business  in  this,  and  in  all  other 
States;  and  hence  the  question  presents  itself,  which  of  these  centres 
offers  the  best  location  for  the  seat  of  government?  It  is  believed  that 
so  far  as  facilities  are  to  be  afforded  the  citizens  for  transacting  affairs 
with  the  government,  the  centre  of  business  is  to  be  preferred  to  the 
centre  of  territory  and  population;  because  where  the  principal  business 
of  a  State,  (by  which  is  meant  its  commercial  and  trading  pursuits,)  is 
mostly  concentrated,  there  will  be  found,  at  nearly  all  times  of  the 
year,  the  greatest  congregation  of  citizens  from  all  parts  of  the  interior. 
Now  it  is  certain,  that  although  the  city  of  New-York  is  the  commer- 
cial metropolis,  it  is  not  the  commercial  centre;  for  that  is,  and  must 
ever  continue  to  be,  the  city  of  Albany.  New-York  is  at  once  the 
great  inlet  and  outlet  of  foreign  trade  and  commerce;  and  from  her 
great  importations,  commands  a  large  portion  of  the  interior  trade;  but 


6 


|  Assembly 


Albany  being  at  the  head  of  our  river  navigation,  not  only  all  the  im- 
portations of  New-York,  that  find  their  way  into  the  interior,  north 
and  west  of  Albany,  but  most  of  her  exportations  must  stop  here  for 
reshipment  on  the  Erie  and  Champlain  canal,  or  the  Hudson  river,  as 
on  the  one  hand  they  come  up,  and  on  the  other  go  down.  These  cir- 
cumstances alone  congregate  a  larger  portion  of  citizens  at  Albany 
from  the  interior  of  the  State,  during  nine  months  in  the  year,  than  is 
to  be  found  at  any  time,  even  when  the  courts  are  sitting,  at  any  other 
place  within  her  borders,  the  city  of  New- York,  perhaps,  excepted. 
Among  these  will  be  found  many  of  those  who  have  business  to  trans- 
act with  the  government,  brought  hither,  too,  by  other  business  besides 
that  which  they  have  with  the  government;  and  when  this  is  not  the 
case,  they  may  act  as  agents  in  transacting  any  business  with  which 
they  may  be  entrusted.  In  this  view  of  the  subject,  it  will  in  most  cases 
perhaps,  at  least  in  nine  out  of  ten,  be  more  convenient  for  a  citizen 
who  has  business  with  the  government,  to  come  to  Albany,  or  employ 
the  agency  of  a  neighbor  who  is  coming,  than  to  stop  at  Utica. 

Experience  has  indeed  shown  that  the  centre  of  territory  and  popu- 
lation has  rarely,  if  ever,  been  the  centre  of  business,  or  the  spot 
through  which  the  greatest  number  of  the  citizens  have  had  occasion  to 
pass,  or  to  stop  for  the  transaction  of  business.    There  is  a  natural  law 
in  these  cases,  which  has  hitherto  operated  uniformly  and  universally. 
By  this  law  the  centre  or  mart  of  business  in  any  State,  is  almost 
invariably  by  the  side  of  the  ocean,  where  a  good  harbor  presents  itself, 
or  along  the  borders,  or  at  the  head  of  tide  water  of  its  navigable  bays 
or  rivers.    This  seems  ever  to  have  been  the  natural  law  of  trade  and 
commerce.    Hence  these  are  the  points  at  which  the  greatest  number 
of  citizens  reside;  and  these  also  are  the  points  to  which  the  greatest 
number  resort  for  the  transaction  of  business,  at  various  seasons  of  the 
year  from  the  interior;  and  hence,  again,  these  have  generally  been  the 
locations  at  which  to  establish  the  seats  of  government  and  the  princi- 
pal offices  of  the  State.    A  view  of  the  map  of  the  United  States  will 
show  that  but  a  small  portion  of  our  sister  States  have  established  their 
seats  of  government  at  the  centre  of  territory  and  population.    On  the 
contrary,  they  have  followed  the  natural  law  of  location  indicated  by 
the  facilities  of  trade  and  commerce  derived  from  vicinity  to  the  ocean 
or  its  bays;  to  navigable  rivers  or  inland  seas  or  lakes.    In  Maine,  the 
seat  of  government  is  at  Augusta,  on  the  Kennebec  river,  in  the  south- 
western part  of  the  State,  and  vessels  of  100  tons  burthen  navigate  the 
river  to  the  capital;  in  New-Hampshire,  at  Concord,  situated  on  the 
Merrimack  river,  distant  forty-three  miles  from  Portsmouth,  the  south- 


No.  401.J 


7 


eastern  part  of  the  State;  in  Massachusetts,  at  Boston,  on  the  seaboard, 
and  at  the  eastern  extremity  of  the  State;  in  Rhode-Island,  at  New- 
port, the  southern  extremity,  and  also  on  the  sea-board;  in  Connecticut, 
at  New-Haven  and  Hartford,  one  of  which  is  on  Long-Island  Sound, 
and  the  other  on  Connecticut  river;  in  New-Jersey,  at  Trenton,  on  the 
Delaware  river,  and  in  the  western  part  of  the  State.  Many  other 
examples  might  be  adduced,  as  the  capitals  of  Pennsylvania,  Virginia, 
Kentucky,  Louisiana,  Michigan,  Alabama,  Vermont,  &c.  &c.  to  prove 
that  but  few  of  our  sister  States  have  established  their  seats  of  govern- 
ment at  the  centre  of  territory  and  population.  These  facts,  indeed, 
with  but  slight  deviations,  will  apply  to  nearly  all  the  commercial  cities 
in  the  world. 

The  city  of  Washington  was  established  more  or  less  on  political 
grounds,  of  which  the  principal  ground  was  to  perpetuate  the  name 
and  fame  of  our  revolutionary  patriarch,  and  at  the  same  time  to  grati- 
fy his  feelings,  inasmuch  as  the  site  was  one  which  he  had  pointed  out, 
and  for  which  he  entertained  a  strong  partiality;  yet  its  vicinity  to  a 
navigable  river  was  not  lost  sight  of  by  its  immortal  founder.  It  is  not 
in  the  centre  of  the  territory  and  population  of  the  United  States,  yet 
may  we  not  venture  the  prediction,  that  so  long  as  the  memory  of 
Washington  is  cherished  by  his  country,  so  long  will  the  Capitol  of 
the  United  States  remain  where  it  now  stands'? 

The  argument  which  the  petitioners  found  on,  the  effects  expected  to 
flow  from  the  numerous  rail-roads  and  turnpikes,  to  which  they  allude 
as  the  "great  arteries  of  communication"  between  the  people  of  the 
State  and  their  capital,  is  a  self- destroying  argument;  for  it  goes  to 
prove  that  the  city  of  Albany  is  a  more  favorable  position  for  the  seat 
of  government  than  Utica;  as  it  is  well  known  that  all  these  "great 
arteries  of  communication"  commence,  or  terminate,  at  Albany,  while 
they  merely  pass  through  Utica.  And  it  is  also  well  known,  that  the 
city  of  Albany  is  one  mail-day  nearer  to  the  capital  of  the  Union,  than 
Utica;  which  is  an  important  consideration  at  all  times,  and  particularly 
during  the  sessions  of  the  Legislature. 

Having  noticed  the  argument  derived  from  centralism,  it  may  be  ask- 
ed, why  it  is  that  in  almost  every  nation  of  the  known  world  it  seems 
to  have  been  the  established  policy,  when  once  the  location  of  its  capi- 
tal was  fixed,  never  to  change  it,  except  for  extraordinary  reasons. — 
The  reason  is  perhaps  obvious:  From  the  foundation  of  every  nation, 
through  every  stage  of  its  existence,  its  capital  has  been  necessarily  so 
intimately  connected  with  its  history,  its  prosperity  and  fame,  that  to 


8  [Assembly 

change  its  location  would  confuse  the  one  and  endanger  the  others.  

Hence  Rome  continued  the  capital  of  the  whole  Empire  for  more  than 
a  thousand  years;  and  of  the  Western  Empire  till  it  was  dissolved, 
though  its  location  was  far  from  the  geographical  centre:  and  where, 
may  we  ask,  have  wTe  ever  heard  of  a  proposition  for  removing  any  one 
of  the  great  capitals  of  Europe  now  existing?  London  remains  the  ca- 
pital of  Great-Britain,  as  it  was  in  the  days  of  Julius  Caesar,  although 
it  is  far  from  the  geographical  centre.  So  also  of  every  other  European 
capital,  and  especially  the  greatest  ones,  as  Paris,  Vienna,  Berlin,  Edin- 
burgh, Dublin,  Amsterdam,  Constantinople  and  St.  Petersburgh.  The 
latter  has  not  always  been  the  capital  of  the  Russian  Empire,  but  it  has 
been  since  the  total  destruction  of  Moscow,  and  the  reason  for  the 
change  of  the  location  of  that  capital  is  familiar  to  all  acquainted  with 
the  history  of  the  present  century.  The  others  all  remain  as  at  first  es- 
tablished; and  the  honest  pride  of  each  nation  has  thus  far  perpetuated 
them,  and  will  doubtless  continue  to  perpetuate  them  to  the  latest  ge- 
nerations, even  should  the  principles  of  democracy  overturn  their  thrones 
and  establish  in  their  stead  the  sovereignty  of  the  people. 

Since,  then,  Albany  has  been  the  seat  of  our  State  government  for 
upwards  of  forty  years,  previous  to  which  time  it  was  vascillating  be- 
tween New- York  and  Poughkeepsie,  Kingston  and  Albany;  since  the 
State  has  incurred  enormous  expenses  in  building  the  Capitol  and  State 
houses  here;  since  it  is  the  most  convenient  spot  for  all  parties  concern- 
ed, whether  the  administrators  of  the  government,  or  the  people  them- 
selves; since  the  Corporation  of  Albany  granted  the  State  the  land  on 
which  the  Capitol  and  one  of  the  State  halls  have  been  erected,  in  the 
just  expectation  that  the  seat  of  government  would  never  be  changed: 
And,  finally,  since  the  seat  of  government  for  the  State  was  here  esta- 
blished by  the  wisdom  of  such  men  as  John  Jay,  Robert  R.  Livingston, 
George  Clinton,  Simeon  De  Witt,  John  Taylor,  and  their  fellow  labor- 
ers in  the  revolution — men  whose  sagacity  and  foresight  embraced  all 
future  prospects  and  contingencies  of  the  State, — there  is  not,  and  it  is 
apprehended  there  cannot  be,  a  solitary  substantia]  reason  for  changing 
the  location  for  that  of  Utica,  or  any  other  place. 

We  are  not  blindly  superstitious  in  our  admiration  of  ancient  institu- 
tions; though  all  must  acknowledge  that  antiquity  is  not  without  its 
charms  in  the  eye,  even  of  the  man  of  ordinary  intellect,  as  well  as  the 
poet  and  the  philosopher.  Ancient  objects  or  institutions  are  connected 
so  intimately,  in  most  cases,  with  ancient  history,  both  written  and  tra- 
ditional, that  they  rarely  fail  to  have  a  good  mental  and  moral  effect 


No.  401.  | 


9 


upon  all  who  contemplate  them.  The  modern  Greek  who  passes  Ther- 
mopyle  or  Salamis,  feels  his  soul  enlivened  by  refreshing  sentiments: 
And  the  American,  in  all  times  to  come,  will  view  with  the  same  de- 
lightful emotions,  the  tombs  of  Washington  and  Warren,  at  Mount- 
Vernon  and  Bunker's  Hill.  These  and  a  thousand  other  objects  asso- 
ciated in  the  mind's  eye,  with  our  glorious  struggles  for  liberty  and  our 
country,  both  with  civilized  and  savage  foes,  will  ever  contribute  to 
awaken  and  keep  alive  in  the  hearts  of  our  countrymen,  the  most  pure 
and  elevated  moral  and  political  feelings. 

In  this  country  we  are,  perhaps,  too  fond  of  innovating,  if  not  of 
destructive  principles.  Scarcely  an  antiquated  church — State  house,  or 
private  domicil,  can  be  suffered  to  stand  in  our  cities.  Scarce  an  anti- 
quated tree  of  the  forest,  whose  trunk  has  stood  firmly  rooted  and  whose 
branches  have  waved  triumphant  and  unhurt  amid  a  thousand  storms, 
can  escape  the  axe  of  the  destroyer.  All  other  countries  but  ours  pos- 
sess antiquated  features  of  moral  sublimity  or  artificial  grandeur,  which 
they  would  shrink  with  a  laudable  enthusiasm  from  desecrating  or  obli- 
terating. Shall  we  not  then  endeavor  to  imitate  them  in  this  noble  feel- 
ing? Shall  we  not  show  our  respect  for  their  example  in  the  question 
now  presented  to  us?  If  we  are  desirous  of  imitating  their  noble  exam- 
ples,— if  we  entertain  a  respect  for  the  feelings  by  which  they  were  ac- 
tuated, Albany  will  remain  the  capital  of  our  great  and  growing  State. 
Its  noble  and  ornamental  structures,  wliich  have  been  erected  for  public 
purposes,  will  not  be  transferred  to  other  and  less  important  uses.  But 
Albany,  as  she  has  been  distinguished  for  more  than  forty  years  as  the 
capital  of  a  State,  whose  fame  is  not  confined  to  this  side  of  the  Atlan- 
tic, but  has  reached  the  Mediterranean  and  the  Euxine,  the  Baltic  and 
the  Indian  ocean,  will  be  perpetuated  as  such,  and  remain  the  pride  of 
New- York. 

A  majority  of  the  committee  have  arrived  at  the  conclusion,  that  the 
prayer  of  the  petitioners  ought  not  to  be  granted.  The  committee,  be- 
ing equally  divided,  could  not  agree  to  a  report  on  the  resolution  sub- 
mitted to  them;  but  a  minority  of  the  committee  entertaining  the  views 
and  sentiments  above  expressed,  respectfully  submit,  for  the  considera- 
tion of  the  House,  the  following  resolution: 

Resolved,  That  it  is  inexpedient  to  change  the  location  of  the  seat  of 
government  of  this  State. 

JOHN  DAVIS, 

PETER  B.  PORTER,  Jr. 

ISAAC  JACKSON. 

TAssem,  No,  401.  |  2 


STATE  OP  NEW-YOKK. 


No,  402. 

IN  ASSEMBLY, 

May  4,  1839. 


REPORT 

Of  a  minority  of  the  select  committee  on  the  petn 
tion  and  resolution  to  remove  the  State  Capital. 

Mr,  McElrath,  from  the  select  committee  to  which  was  referred  the 
petition  of  sundry  citizens  of  Chautauque  county,  praying  for  the  removal 
of  the  capital  of  the  State  to  Utica;  and  to  which  was  also  referred  the 
resolution  of  the  Assembly,  "  to  inquire  into  the  expediency  of  chang- 
ing the  location  of  the  seat  of  government  of  this  State," 

REPORTS: 

It  could  hardly  have  been  expected  that  on  a  subject  of  this  nature, 
a  committee  composed  of  eight  persons  selected  from  each  of  the  Senate 
districts  of  the  State,  would  be  able  to  agree  in  all  the  particulars  which 
are  embraced  by  the  subject  submitted  for  their  examination.  On  the 
first  branch  of  the  question,  however,  the  removal  of  the  capital  to 
Utica,  the  committee  were  able  to  agree  to  a  majority  vote,  but  on  the 
other  branch  of  the  subject  they  could  not  agree,  and  the  undersigned 
would  therefore  ask  permission  to  submit  their  views  thereon  in  the 
form  of  a  minority  report. 

The  memorialists  set  forth  in  their  petition  "  that  the  last  census  of 
the  State  establishes  the  fact  that  a  large  majority  of  its  citizens  are 
residents  of  that  portion  of  it  which  lies  west  of  the  city  of  Albany," 
and  that  in  "  their  opinion  the  capital  of  the  State,  with  the  public 
offices  ordinarily  attached  to  it,  should  be  located,  as  nearly  as  circum- 
stances will  permit,  in  the  centre  of  population  and  territory."  This 
opinion  the  petitioners  think  is  sustained,  and  "  believe  to  be  evident, 
from  the  usage  of  the  neighboring  States;"  and  they  add,  that  in  u  looking 

[Assem.  No.  402.]  1 


I 


[AsSKMBLf 


through  the  limits  of  New- York  for  a  point  which  will  best  secure  the 
combined  advantages  of  a  territorial  centre,  and  the  centre  of  popula- 
tion, they  feel  persuaded  that  no  spot  can  compete  with  the  city  of 
Utica."  * 

The  minority  of  your  committee  entertain  great  respect  for  the  opi- 
nions of  the  fifty-six  inhabitants  of  Chautauque  county  whose  names 
are  signed  to  the  petition  now  under  their  consideration,  and  they  feel 
bound  to  give  the  views  of  these  petitioners  a  careful  and  attentive 
examination. 

The  first  point  urged  by  the  petitioners  in  favor  of  removing  to  Utica, 
is  that  the  capital  and  public  offices  should  be  located  in  the  centre  of 
population  and  territory.  In  the  opinion  of  your  committee,  this  pro- 
position unconnected  with  other  considerations  having  reference  to  ulti- 
mate and  general  advantages,  is  entirely  erroneous.  It  is  not  questioned, 
however,  that  all  other  things  being  equal,  the  central  points  of  popu- 
lation and  territory  might  well  control  the  location  of  the  State  capital. 
But  there  are  many  and  various  other  public  considerations  to  be  taken 
into  account,  and  many  local  reasons  which  induce  a  departure  from 
this  principle.  The  business  of  legislation  is  confined  to  a  compara- 
tively small  proportion  of  our  citizens.  Not  one  person  out  of  five  hun- 
dred has  personally  any  thing  more  to  do  at  the  capital  of  the  State  than 
he  has  at  the  capital  of  the  Chinese  empire.  It  is  true  all  our  citizens 
are  interested  in  legislation  so  far  as  good  laws  are  concerned,  but  it  is 
a  matter  of  perfect  indifference  to  them  whether  these  laws  shall  be 
enacted  in  the  centre  or  in  the  extremities  of  the  State.  In  fixing  upon 
the  seat  of  government,  the  general  interests  of  the  whole  State  must 
be  regarded,  and  the  point  at  which  the  greatest  amount  of  business  is 
affected  by  legislation  must  be  viewed  as  a  controlling  cause  in  its  loca- 
tion. Under  any  circumstances  the  mere  relative  position  of  numbers 
cannot  be  considered  the  only  reason  for  the  central  establishment  of 
public  or  legislative  business.  Those  sections  of  the  State  requiring 
the  most  frequent  reference  to,  and  general  application  of,  public  laws; 
those  embracing  the  greatest  interests  of  the  State,  and  which  are  most 
intimately  connected  with  the  General  and  other  State  governments, 
should  always  have  the  easiest  access  to  the  seat  of  government.  This 
argument  of  central  location,  is  in  fact  the  only  one  which  can  be 
seriously  urged  in  favor  of  the  removal  to  any  point  west  of  Albany. 
But  your  committee  are  of  opinion  that,  viewing  the  subject  in  its 
proper  light,  the  centre  of  business,  the  centre  of  trade  and  of  com- 
merce, the  source  and  centre  of  information,  the  centre  of  the  money 


No.  402.J 


3 


market,  the  centre  of  action,  are  all  reasons  which  suggest  themselves 
as  of  much  greater  importance  to  the  true  interests  of  a  great  State 
like  New-York,  than  barely  the  consideration  of  a  geographical  centre. 

It  was  once  the  custom  of  some  of  the  nations  of  the  old  world,  to 
require  the  consent  of  all  the  members  of  the  community  to  any  of 
their  laws,  and  for  this  purpose  they  congregrated  in  an  open  field  or 
plain,  to  consult  upon  the  business  which  concerned  the  peace  of  the 
kingdom.  In  such  cases,  a  central  field  or  plain  was  usually  selected; 
but  afterwards  when  the  people  saw  proper  to  delegate  these  powers  to 
representatives,  the  centre  of  trade  and  of  commerce  was  fixed  upon 
as  the  place  of  meeting,  and  the  territorial  centre  was  never  afterwards 
thought  of. 

A  central  locality  has  frequently  been  urged  in  fixing  the  site  for  the 
public  buildings  in  counties;  and  there  certainly  appears  to  be  force  in 
this  argument  in  reference  to  county  seats.  Here  all  the  citizens  of 
the  county  are  immediately  and  directly  interested.  Every  man  is  sum- 
moned as  a  juror  or  a  witness,  or  is  a  suitor  in  the  county  courts,  and 
has  more  or  less  business  with  the  public  offices.  It  is  right  and  proper, 
therefore,  that  his  convenience  should  be  consulted  in  the  location  of 
the  county  buildings.  But  even  here  the  true  interests  of  many  of  the 
counties  of  this  State  have  been  sacrificed  by  too  strict  an  adherence  to 
this  principle.  Numerous  instances  could  be  adduced  where  the  county 
seats  have  been  fixed  at  or  near  the  geographical  centre  of  the  county, 
instead  of  adopting  the  obviously  natural  and  superior  position  which 
presented  itself  at  points  somewhat  remote  from  the  centre.  But  this 
notion  of  centrality  in  fixing  county  seats  is  by  no  means  universal. 
The  county  seat  for  the  county  of  Albany  for  instance,  is  very  far  from 
its  centre,  but  does  any  one  suppose  that  it  would  be  to  the  interests  of 
the  county  to  remove  its  public  buildings  to  a  more  central  point?  The 
same  too  may  be  asked  of  Dutchess,  Ulster,  Greene,  Erie,  Monroe, 
Oneida,  and  many  other  counties  in  the  State,  where  a  more  enlarged 
and  statesmanlike  view  of  the  subject  appears  to  have  influenced  the 
choice  of  the  site  for  its  public  offices.  If  this  principle  of  territorial 
centre  will  not  in  all  cases  hold  good  in  reference  to  counties,  how  much 
less  will  it  be  regarded  in  its  application  to  the  State? 

But  the  petitioners  say  that  their  opinion  is  sustained,  and  is  "  evi- 
dent from  the  usage  of  the  neighboring  States."  To  this  your  commit- 
tee would  simply  remark,  that  usage  in  other  States  would  hardly  be 
regarded  as  of  sufficient  weight  with  the  people  of  the  State  of  New- 


4 


(AsiEMBL-y 


York  to  induce  them  to  act  in  violation  of  public  interest,  public  con- 
venience, public  sentiment  and  enlightened  reason.  Besides,  the  peti- 
tioners appear  to  have  fallen  into  an  error  as  to  the  "  usages  of  other 
States."  Massachusetts  for  instance,  could  not  have  had  the  geographi- 
cal centre  of  the  State  in  view  when  her  capital  was  located.  Nor 
could  it  have  been  this  principle  which  actuated  and  controlled  in  fixing 
the  location  of  the  capitals  of  Maine,  New- Hampshire,  Rhode-Island, 
Vermont,  Connecticut,  Maryland,  New- Jersey,  Pennsylvania,  Virginia, 
Louisiana,  Kentucky,  and  several  of  the  other  States  in  the  Union. 

The  petitioners  next  go  on  to  say,  that  in  "  looking  through  the 
limits  of  New-York  for  a  point  which  will  best  secure  the  combined  ad- 
vantages of  a  territorial  centre  and  the  centre  of  population,  they  feel 
persuaded  that  no  spot  can  compete  with  the  city  of  Utica."  The  un- 
dersigned docs  not  think  it  important  to  inquire  whether  any  other 
town  in  the  State  might  enter  as  a  competitor  with  Utica  for  the  "  cen- 
tre of  territory  and  population."  It  is  not  impossible  that  upon  a  strict 
measurement  and  an  accurate  census  the  central  point  might  be  ascer- 
tained to  be  at  or  near  the  place  designated  by  the  petitioners;  but  this 
is  by  no  means  certain,  and  it  appears  somewhat  remarkable  that  the 
petitioners,  in  u  looking  through  the  whole  limits  of  New- York,"  did 
not  discover  that  Rome,  Fonda,  Syracuse  or  Auburn  might  possibly  lay 
as  just  claims  to  this  centre  of  territory  and  population  as  the  city  of 
Utica. 

The  next  reason  urged  by  the  petitioners  for  removing  the  capital  to 
to  Utica  is,  a  that  within  its  limits  and  its  immediate  neighborhood  are 
literary  institutions,  which  will  afford  ample  means  of  education  for  the 
families  of  our  public  officers,  whose  duties  require  a  residence  at  the 
capital;"  and  the  petitioners  add,  that  the  "  abundance  of  its  agricul- 
tural productions  oilers  an  additional  inducement  in  the  cheapness  of 
living."  The  minority  of  your  committee  are  deeply  impressed  with 
the  importance  of  affording  "  ample  means  for  the  education  of  the  fami- 
lies of  public  officers  of  the  State,"  but  they  have  yet  to  learn  that  there 
is  any  want  of  means  of  instruction  at  the  present  capital,  or  that  the 
city  of  Utica  possesses  in  this  particular  any  very  extraordinary  advan- 
tages over  many  other  portions  of  the  State.  The  petitioners  appear  to 
be  deeply  affected  with  the  importance  of  education,  and  no  doubt  sup- 
posed that  our  officers  themselves  might  be  benefited  by  proximity  to 
literary  institutions.  Indeed  upon  this  want  of  means  of  education  they 
appear  to  possess  most  commendable  zeal  and  public  spirit,  and  the  com- 
mittee were  somewhat  surprised  that  the  petitioners  did  not  conclude  in 


No.  402.  |  & 

reference  to  this  subject,  in  the  pathetic  language  of  a  celebrated  public 
officer  on  another  occasion,  "our  sufferings  is  intolerable."  As  to  the 
"  agricultural  productiveness  "  of  the  city  of  Utica,  your  committee  have 
no  reason  to  call  in  question  the  statement  of  the  petitioners;  but  as  to 
the  cheapness  of  living  the  committee  are  of  opinion  that  at  the  present 
day  but  little  difference  obtains  between  the  different  parts  of  the  State; 
though  they  are  inclined  to  the  opinion  that  transient  persons  or  perma- 
ment  boarders  are  better  accommodated  for  a  given  sum  in  the  city  of 
New- York,  than  at  any  other  place  in  the  State.  This  inquiry,  however, 
in  the  opinion  of  your  committee,  is  of  but  little  consequence  in  the  dis- 
cussion of  the  question  of  removing  the  State  capital  to  Utica. 

The  petitioners  next  urge  as  a  reason  why  the  capital  should  be  re- 
moved to  Utica,  "  that  the  county  of  Oneida,  in  which  Utica  is  situat- 
ed, has  long  been  distinguished  for  the  fertility  of  its  soil,  the  extent  of 
its  manufactures,  the  number,  the  morality,  the  intelligence,  and  en- 
terprise of  its  citizens;  and  if  to  these  be  added  the  natural  beauties  of 
the  situation  of  Utica  itself,"  the  petitioners  "  are  persuaded  that  it  of- 
fers inducements  for  a  permanent  location  of  the  capital  within  its  li- 
mits, unsurpassed  by  any  other  spot  in  the  State."  Until  your  com- 
mittee had  read  and  reflected  upon  this  portion  of  the  matter  set  forth  by 
the  petitioners,  they  wTere  almost  inclined  to  the  opinion  that  the  peti- 
tion itself,  although  signed  by  fifty-six  of  the  inhabitants  of  Chatauque 
county,  was  the  production  of  some  gentleman  in  the  city  of  Utica,  but 
as  it  is  fair  to  presume  that  the  citizens  of  Utica  are  no  less  distinguished 
for  their  modesty  than  for  their  "  numbers,  morality  and  intelligence," 
your  committee  would  by  no  means  charge  upon  that  city,  or  any  of  its 
citizens,  the  authorship  of  said  petition. 

The  petitioners  further  set  forth  as  a  good  and  sufficient  reason  why 
the  capital  should  be  removed  to  Utica,  that  on  account  of  "  its  conveni- 
ence for  the  transaction  of  public  business,  it  has  generally  been  select- 
ed by  our  public  conventions  for  the  place  of  their  meetings."  Your 
committee  can  readily  perceive  why  some  central  point  of  the  State 
should  ordinarily  be  selected  as  the  proper  place  for  the  meetings  of  con- 
ventions, where  each  individual  pays  his  own  expenses,  and  where  the 
business  to  be  transacted  is  understood  beforehand,  and  is  confined  to  a 
single  specific  object.  No  analogy  whatever  exists  between  the  business 
of  the  Legislature  and  that  of  a  political,  agricultural  or  moral  conven- 
tion. And  the  reasons  which  suggest  and  induce  the  latter  to  meet  at 
Syracuse,  Herkimer  or  Utica,  on  account  of  their  central  position,  are 
entirely  inapplicable  to  the  former. 


6  [  Assembly 

Certain  statistical  facts  are  next  urged  by  the  petitioners  as  reasons 
for  the  removal  of  the  capital  from  Albany  to  Utica.  The  petitioners 
say,  that  u  according  to  the  present  apportionment  of  the  members  of 
the  State  Legislature,  seventy-two  members  reside  within  one  hundred 
miles  of  Utica,  while  only  fifty-seven  reside  within  the  same  distance 
of  Albany."  Of  the  county  seats  of  the  several  counties  of  the  State, 
the  petitioners  say,  u  thirty-four  are  nearer  to  Utica  than  Albany,  and 
twenty  nearer  Albany  than  Utica."  And  they  add,  that  the  "aggre- 
gate difference  in  favor  of  Utica  from  the  different  county  seats,  is  more 
than  eleven  hundred  miles,"  and  the  number  of  acres  of  land  in  those 
counties  nearer  Utica  than  Albany,  amounts  to  more  than  twenty  mil- 
lions, while  the  number  of  acres  nearer  Albany  than  Utica,  amount  to 
but  about  eight  millions.  As  to  a  majority  of  the  members  of  Assem- 
bly residing  nearer  to  Utica  than  Albany,  your  committee  will  see  how 
far  this  ought  to  be  considered,  in  a  subsequent  part  of  this  report;  and 
as  to  the  additional  number  of  acres  of  land  in  the  vicinity  of  Utica, 
your  committee  cannot  conceive  that  that  is  of  much  consequence  in 
the  discussion  of  this  subject.  If  it  were  the  business  of  the  Legisla- 
ture to  visit  all  the  farms  in  the  State,  and  to  personally  examine  the 
forests  and  wild  lands  enumerated  in  the  statement  of  the  petitioners, 
the  argument  might  have  some  force.  But  this  is  not  the  business  of 
the  Legislature;  nor  would  the  fact  of  their  meeting  in  the  very  centre 
of  the  "  acres  "  of  land  in  the  State,  in  any  wTay  facilitate  the  discharge 
of  their  public  duties. 

The  next  reason  assigned  by  the  petitioners  is,  u  that  the  great  arte- 
ries of  communication  from  every  quarter  of  the  State,  must  pass  through 
the  city  of  Utica."  The  petitioners  then  go  on  to  enumerate  a  number 
of  rail-roads  and  canals  which  pass  through  or  terminate  at  this  point. 
They  seem  to  have  overlooked  the  fact  that  these  great  arteries  of  com- 
munication from  every  part,  which  will  pass  through  Utica,  will  also 
pass  through  and  communicate  with  every  other  important  part  of  the 
State.  So  that  Utica  in  fact  possesses  no  advantage  in  this  respect  over 
any  other  place  accessible  by  rail-roads  or  steam-boats. 

The  last  reason  urged  by  the  petitioners  in  favor  of  the  removal  of 
the  capital  to  Utica  is,  that  various  turnpikes  terminate  at  or  pass 
through  Utica,  "  which  now  and  in  all  future  time,"  say  the  petitioners, 
"  will  be  unsurpassed"  This  argument  in  favor  of  the  removal  to  Utia 
on  account  of  the  turnpike  roads,  your  committee  do  not  think  is  enti- 
tled to  very  grave  consideration.  They  would  not,  however,  dispute  or 
call  in  question  the  statement.    No  doubt  these  turnpike  roads  will  in 


No.  402.J 


1 


all  future  time  remain  as  one  of  the  local  advantages  possessed  by  that 
city  which  will  be  "  unsurpassed"  by  any  other  place;  but  it  appears 
to  your  committee  that  it  ought  to  have  just  about  as  much  weight,  as 
if  the  village  of  Syracuse  were  to  urge  as  a  reason  for  a  removal  to  that 
place,  that  it  contained  an  abundance  of  salt,  which  in  its  quantity  and 
quality  in  "all  future  time  will  be  unsurpassed." 

Having  thus  very  briefly  glanced  at  the  reasons  which  have  been 
urged  in  favor  of  removing  the  capital  to  Utica,  and  perceiving  no 
sufficient  grounds  for  recommending  its  removal  to  that  place,  your 
committee  will  leave  the  subject  of  the  petition,  and  pass  to  the  consi- 
deration of  the  other  branch  of  the  subject  submitted  to  them  by  the 
following  resolution: 

"Resolved,  That  a  select  committee  be  appointed  to  inquire  into  the 
expediency  of  changing  the  location  of  the  seat  of  government  of  this 
State,  and  that  they  report  thereon  to  this  or  the  next  House  of  Assem- 
bly." 

Upon  this  resolution  a  difference  of  opinion  existed  in  the  minds  of 
the  committee,  and  a  minority  submit  for  the  consideration  of  the 
House  a  few  brief  reasons  why  it  would  be  expedient  that  the  capital 
should  be  removed.    In  the  former  part  of  this  report  it  was  shown 
that  the  proper  considerations  for  fixing  the  location  of  the  State  build- 
ings, were  not  those  relating  to  territorial  centre,  but  those  of  public 
policy,  public  interest  and  public  utility.    It  certainly  cannot  be  denied, 
that  the  location  of  the  seat  of  government  of  any  State  should  be 
nearest  the  source  of  information  and  intelligence,  both  foreign  and 
domestic.    These  are  objects  which  vitally  affect  all  legislation,  and  on 
which  materially  depends  the  facility  and  character  of  the  public  admi- 
nistration of  justice  and  the  laws.    Again,  real  and  personal  estate, 
which  are  necessarily  constant  objects  of  legislative  action,  should  be 
easily  accessible  to  public  functionaries,  and  as  near  the  point  of  super- 
vision as  practicable.    State  legislation  should  be  as  contiguous  to  the 
wants  of  the  people  as  possible,  and  wherever  population  is  the  most 
active,  or  private  and  corporate  enterprise  the  most  useful  and  most 
frequent,  there  will  be  required  most  frequently  the  exercise  of  public 
power,  public  justice  and  public  patronage.    And  it  is  with  reference 
to  all  these  subjects  of  consideration  that  the  undersigned  would  urge 
the  removal  of  the  State  buildings,  not  still  further  west,  as  with  a 
superficial  view  it  might  be  supposed,  but  yet  further  south.    The  most 
central  part  of  the  State,  considered  merely  as  to  its  surface,  is  un- 


doubtedly  much  further  west  than  Albany,  but  this  consideration  alone 
has  already  been  shown  to  be  insufficient  to  control  the  location  of  its 
capital. 

In  regard  to  population,  it  will  be  seen  by  a  reference  to  proper 
documents,  that  south  of  Albany ,  and  including  the  two  adjoining  counties, 
there  are  about  one  million  of  inhabitants;  while  the  amount  of  public 
business,  of  moneyed  capital,  of  personal  property  and  real  estate  is 
conclusively  in  favor  of  a  location  still  further  south  than  Albany.  If 
the  amount  of  property  to  be  affected  by  legislation,  and  the  greater 
interest  thereby  felt  in  the  acts  of  the  State  administration,  are  to  be 
objects  of  consideration  in  the  removal  of  the  State  capital,  then  too 
would  the  demand  for  a  more  southern  location  than  the  present,  appear 
of  paramount  importance.  Of  the  value  of  personal  estate,  the  city 
of  New-York  alone  possesses  ten  millions  more  than  the  whole  State 
besides.  Moreover,  the  value  of  real  estate  in  the  city  of  New-York 
is  more  by  ten  millions,  than  the  proportion  of  one  to  two  and  a  half 
throughout  the  State;  and  of  the  connected  aggregate  valuation  of  real 
and  personal  property,  it  is  nearly  one-fialf  of  that  oj  Vie  whole  State. 

In  the  opinion  of  the  minority  of  the  committee,  the  city  of  New- 
York  possesses  all  the  necessary  and  peculiar  requisites  for  the  seat  of 
government  of  this  great  State;  and  in  their  opinion,  no  other  city  or 
town  within  its  limits,  combines  all  the  requisites  which  it  is  desirable 
for  the  public  good  and  public  convenience  should  be  concentrated  at 
the  seat  of  the  State  government.  The  great  commercial  metropolis  of 
the  Union,  as  well  as  of  the  State;  the  point  of  destination  of  all  the 
agricultural  and  mechanical  products  of  the  country;  the  source  of  fo- 
reign and  domestic  intelligence,  of  enterprise,  and  of  benevolence;  the 
mart  of  trade  for  all  nations;  the  very  heart  and  centre  of  commercial 
attraction  to  all  lands;  the  city  of  New-York  stands  at  once  the  pride 
and  the  glory  of  the  Empire  State,  and  the  wonder  and  the  admiration 
of  the  whole  world. 

The  city  of  New-York,  will,  upon  the  completion  of  the  New- York 
and  Albany  rail-road,  and  the  extension  of  the  communication  by  rail- 
roads westward  to  the  city  of  Buffalo,  be  accessible  from  all  points  of 
the  State  at  a  comparatively  trifling  expense,  and  within  an  almost  in- 
credibly short  space  of  time.  Albany  and  New- York  will  be  brought 
within  about  seven  hours  of  each  other;  NewT-York  and  Utica  within 
about  twelve  hours;  and  New- York  and  Buffalo  within  about  twenty- 
five  or  thirty  hours.  All  the  improvements  which  are  going  on  in  the 
State,  unite  with  some  one  of  the  main  arteries  of  communication  •  Nich 


No.  402.J 


9 


lead  to  New-York,  so  that  from  all  quarters  the  city  of  New- York  can 
be  reached  with  ease  and  facility;  and  the  fact  of  a  few  more  members 
of  the  Assembly  residing  some  miles  nearer  to  one  point  than  to  an- 
other, would  seem  to  be  hardly  worth  considering.  At  all  seasons  of 
the  year,  in  the  city  of  New-York,  may  be  found  citizens  from  every 
county  of  the  State.  If  the  business  of  making  laws  were  transacted 
at  this  place,  there  would  rarely  be  an  instance  of  a  law  passing  with- 
out more  or  less  of  the  inhabitants  of  each  of  the  counties  of  the  State 
knowing  all  about  it;  and  if  an  improper  measure  should  be  presented, 
it  would  be  instantly  discovered,  and  would  as  instantly  excite  the  at- 
tention of  the  people. 

A  writer  over  the  signature  of  Hamilton,  published  a  few  days  since, 
in  one  of  our  newspapers,  an  article  upon  this  subject,  from  which  it  is  not 
deemed  improper  to  make  an  extract  in  this  place.  He  says  that  "  the 
contemplated  removal  of  the  seat  of  government  from  the  city  of  Albany, 
is  a  measure  of  vital  importance  to  the  prosperity  of  this  great  State. 
That  it  must  take  place,  sooner  or  later,  seems  to  be  admitted  by  all 
reflecting  persons.  The  only  question  which  divides  the  public  mind 
is,  its  future  location.  The  nations  of  Europe  have,  from  the  earliest 
periods,  pursued  a  wise,  obvious  and  consistent  rule  on  this  subject,  to 
which  they  have  adhered  with  pertinacity  for  centuries.  They  have  uni- 
formly made  their  capital  city  their  seat  of  legislation.  Here  they  may 
find,  for  many  reasons,  the  heart,  whose  pulsations  can  be  made  to  reach 
the  remotest  regions  of  the  State.  In  the  United  States,  we  have  been 
remarkable  for  a  studied  departure  from  this  rule.  Among  us,  conve- 
nience of  access  has  uniformly  governed  the  decision  on  this  subject. 
This  is  a  sound  rule  enough  where  the  greater  portion  of  the  country  is 
a  wilderness,  but  with  that  fact,  its  wisdom  and  propriety  ceases.  We 
have  now  clearly  reached  that  period,  in  this  State,  when  this  conside- 
ration must  yield  to  others  of  a  more  cogent  character.  Rail-roads  and 
steam  navigation  have  caused,  or  may  cause,  any  point  which  may  be 
selected  as  a  capital  to  be  abundantly  accessible.  It  is,  therefore,  no 
longer  wise  to  seek  central  situations,  to  the  neglect  of  rational  motives, 
leading  to  the  adoption  of  the  example  of  all  civilized  States.  I  am 
for  the  removal  of  the  seat  of  government  to  the  city  of  New-York, 
the  true  capital  of  the  State.  And  the  motives  for  this  preference  are 
obvious,  and  are  to  be  found  in  the  objections  which  have  ever  existed, 
and  must  always  exist,  to  legislation  at  a  distance  from  that  quarter 
where  the  wealth  and  intelligence  of  the  State,  are  to  the  greatest  de- 
gree centered.  How  much  crude  and  pernicious  legislation  have  we 
experienced,  since  the  seat  of  government  has  been  removed  to  Albany. 

[Assem.  No.  402.J  2 


10 


[Assembly 


How  many  bills  have  passed  into  laws  there,  before  the  fact  of  their 
introduction  has  been  known,  even  to  the  intelligent  portion  of  the  com- 
munity here.  Indeed,  in  the  very  introduction  of  the  system  of  the 
Revised  Laws,  condemned,  with  a  few  exceptions,  as  that  system  now 
is,  by  all  learned  and  intelligent  men,  how  complete  a  revolution  has 
crept  almost  unobserved  upon  the  State.  Such  things  may  happen  in  a 
country  town  or  limited  city,  but  can  never  happen  under  the  inquiring 
eyes  of  the  thousands  assembled  in  the  real  capital  of  the  country. 

"  Look  to  the  land  of  our  fathers — look  to  England.  Is  her  capital 
central?  Is  her  capital  the  city  of  most  convenient  access?  Is  it  not 
the  heart  of  the  realm?  The  true  physical  capital  of  the  country?  Has 
she  not  been,  from  the  earliest  period,  remarkable  for  the  wisdom  of  her 
laws?  Do  they  not  instantly,  when  proposed,  attract  public  attention, 
and  are  not  the  interests  of  all  classes  freely  consulted  before  they  are 
passed?  To  what  cause  is  this  to  be  ascribed?  Plainly  to  this,  that  in 
the  real  and  national  capital  of  a  country  there  is  always  to  be  found  a 
full  representation  of  every  interest,  commercial,  agricultural,  mechani- 
cal or  professional.  Should  it  be  now  proposed  in  England,  to  remove 
its  capital  to  a  more  central  position,  by  the  convenience  of  access, 
would  such  proposition  find  an  advocate  there,  or  a  wise  man  who  would 
favor  it  here?    Clearly  not. 

"  I  am  therefore  in  favor  of  retracing  our  steps.  We  no  longer  in- 
habit a  howling  wilderness — let  us,  therefore,  lay  aside  the  ideas  belong- 
ing to  that  state  of  things,  and  assume  the  dignity  of  a  civilized  people, 
by  making  our  physical  and  legal  capital  the  same." 

The  commercial  capital  of  the  State  seems  to  be  the  peculiarly  appro- 
priate place  for  the  annual  meetings  of  the  representatives  of  the  people. 
It  is  here  that  the  fluctuations  in  the  money  market  are  first  discovered, 
and  their  causes  best  understood:  It  is  here  that  the  rise  or  depression 
in  the  staple  commodities  of  the  nation  are  soonest  felt,  and  the  causes 
of  such  rise  or  fall  soonest  ascertained:  It  is  here  that  the  effects  of  a 
change  in  commercial  or  legislative  policy  of  the  State  can  be  most  ac- 
curately calculated  upon,  and  most  vigorously  and  efficiently  carried 
out.  All  kinds  of  knowledge  useful  and  necessary  for  a  legislator,  may 
here  be  readily  acquired.  At  this  place  the  important  subjects  of  State 
policy  are  the  daily  topic  of  conversation  and  discussion;  in  the  streets 
and  on  change,  and  by  citizens  and  strangers.  Every  section  of  the 
State  is  here  represented;  the  interests,  the  resources,  the  wants  of  all 
sections  can  here  be  most  speedily  communicated  to  the  different  mem- 


No.  402.] 


11 


bers  of  the  great  family  of  which  the  State  is  composed.  In  a  word, 
were  the  city  of  New-York  the  political  capital,  as  well  as  the  com- 
mercial metropolis,  she  would  be  politically  to  the  State,  what  the  Spec- 
tator so  eloquently  depicts  London  to  be  to  the  world.  "  It  gives  me 
a  secret  satisfaction,  {Paper  69,)  and  in  some  measure,  gratifies  my 
vanity,  to  see  so  rich  an  assembly  of  countrymen  and  foreigners  con- 
sulting together  upon  the  private  business  of  mankind,  and  making  this 
metropolis  a  kind  of  emporium  for  the  whole  earth.  I  must  confess  I 
look  upon  High  Change  to  be  a  great  council,  in  which  all  considerable 
nations  have  their  representatives.  Factors  in  the  trading  world  are 
what  ambassadors  are  in  the  public  world:  they  negotiate  affairs,  con- 
clude treaties,  and  maintain  a  good  correspondence  between  men  that 
are  divided  from  one  another  by  seas  and  oceans,  or  live  on  the  different 
extremities  of  a  continent.  I  have  often  been  pleased  to  hear  disputes 
adjusted  between  an  inhabitant  of  Japan  and  an  alderman  of  London, 
or  to  see  a  subject  of  the  Great  Mogul  entering  into  a  league  with  one 
of  the  Czar  of  Muscovy.  There  are  not  more  useful  members  in  a 
commonwealth  than  merchants.  They  knit  mankind  together  in  a  mu- 
tual intercourse  of  good  offices,  distribute  the  gifts  of  nature,  find  work 
for  the  poor,  and  add  magnificence  to  the  great."  Indeed  it  can  hardly 
be  questioned,  that  if  our  legislative  meetings  were  held  in  the  city  of 
New-York,  the  jealousies,  the  sectional  feelings,  and  the  contracted 
views  which  govern  in  too  many  instances,  would  give  place  to  more 
liberal  sentiments,  and  to  more  generous  and  dignified  action.  The 
same  gentleman  who  could  vote  for  a  navigable  canal  from  the  village 
of  Delta,  in  the  county  of  Oneida,  would  perhaps  not  see  so  many  con- 
stitutional objections,  and  have  such  conscientious  scruples  when  called 
upon  to  aid  in  important  improvements  in  some  other  portions  of  the 
State.  • 

The  undersigned  has  not  deemed  it  of  importance  to  say  any  thing  in 
relation  to  the  property  owned  by  the  State  at  the  city  of  Albany.  The 
Capitol  itself  has  long  been  deemed  not  less  wanting  in  architectural 
beauty,  than  in  commodiousness  and  adaptation.  The  new  State  offices, 
however,  are  alike  creditable  to  the  State  and  to  the  gentlemen  under 
whose  supervision  they  were  constructed.  If  it  should  be  deemed  ex- 
pedient to  change  the  capital  of  the  State  to  the  city  of  New- York, 
there  are  no  fears  but  that  the  State  would  be  commodiously  and  taste- 
fully accommodated  without  incurring  any  expense.  For  other  reasons 
which  might  be  urged  in  favor  of  removing  the  capital  to  New-York, 
the  undersigned  would  refer  to  the  able  and  eloquent  report  upon  this 


12  |  Assembly 

subject,  made  yesterday  by  Mr.  Davis,  one  of  the  representatives  from 
the  city  and  county  of  Albany,  and  a  member  of  the  select  committee. 

The  undersigned  concludes  with  offering  for  the  consideration  of  the 
House  the  following  resolution: 

Resolved,  That  it  is  expedient  to  remove  the  capital  of  the  State  from 
Albany  to  the  city  of  New- York. 

THOMAS  McELRATH 


izx  SJtbria 


SEYMOUR  DURST 


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